Sams slams decisive blows as Essex oust defending champions Hampshire

Essex 115 for 5 (Sams 29, Fuller 2-23) beat Hampshire 170 for 7 (Weatherly 63*, Critchley 2-22) by five wickets (DLS method)

Sams could not finish the job, well held on the boundary by Ross Whiteley, but despite Liam Dawson only conceding seven off the penultimate over to leave 13 needed from the last, Ellis – the hero in Hampshire’s dramatic victory a year ago – was hit for two sixes in three balls to end hopes of a defence.

The rain delay took eight overs out of the Essex innings and seemed to tip the balance back towards the chasing side, with the requirement now 96 off 55 and the ball skidding around on a greasy outfield. They threatened to squander the advantage by losing 3 for 3 in the space of six ball, but Sams smashed three sixes in an innings of 29 from 17 to put them back on course for only a second Blast final appearance.

Essex come out on top of DLS equation

The revised target left Essex needing to go at just above ten an over, and that had come down to 68 off 40 when James Fuller struck twice in the space of three balls: Michael Pepper caught at deep third off a wild hack and Lawrence edging a pull to the keeper. When Paul Walter was palpably lbw to John Turner in the next over, Essex were four down with the required rate climbing.

“With wickets in hand and a smaller total, you would back yourself to get there,” Harmer said. “But in saying that when you lose wickets it’s tough to start again. You got to have your foot on the accelerator from ball one. So the way that guys like Critch and Dan Sams played, coming in there and striking from ball one was huge for us in the context of that chase.”

Weatherley, meanwhile, described Hampshire as “bitterly disappointed” with the outcome. “With Duckworth-Lewis, it only takes is a couple of guys to hit a couple of sixes,” he said. “We still took wickets, if we hadn’t have done it would have looked a lot easier. It certainly feels unfair when they’ve got nine wickets in hand to get ten an over.

Hampshire start well, then stutter

Aaron Beard’s only over, the first of the Hampshire innings, went for 14 as both Ben McDermott and James Vince opened their accounts by whipping leg-side deliveries to the fence. McDermott then picked off Sams’ first two balls, the second via a domineering stride down the pitch before launching over long-off. An edged four wide of the keeper and two more off Sam Cook – one scooped over the head of short fine leg – took McDermott to 29 off 11 but he fell to his next delivery, pulling Cook straight to deep square leg.

Hampshire at that point were 39 for 1 after three overs but Vince fell in the next over, chipping Shane Snater to mid-off, and Essex got a hold on the scoring to make it 55 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. The spinners then kept Hampshire in check, with Tom Prest, Dawson and Fuller all falling for middling scores and only five boundaries coming between the seventh and 16th overs.

Weatherley, Howell add finishing touch

With wickets falling regularly, Weatherley had to take a circumspect approach, although he did hit one sweetly struck six down the ground off Harmer. Whiteley’s miscue off Walter left Hampshire 130 for 6 after 17, but the arrival of Howell added much-needed impetus at the death, as the seventh-wicket pair mirrored McDermott’s opening burst by lashing another 40 runs to the total. A wide full toss from Sams saw Weatherley bring up his fifty from from 34 balls, and the Hampshire No. 4 then spoiled an otherwise-decent penultimate over from Cook by going deep in his crease to slog-sweep a slower ball for six.

Howell then helped plunder 14 off Sams’ closer, including a towering six over long-on the ball after being dropped by Snater, and although he was dismissed off the final delivery his 22 off 11 had given Hampshire something to bowl at. Thanks to the rain, however, and Sams late blows, it would not be quite enough.